


Ink

by StarryAry



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Real World, Dirty Dancing, M/M, Not everyone is gay, Romance, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-08-07
Packaged: 2017-12-21 18:39:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/903544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryAry/pseuds/StarryAry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shikamaru hangs out at Kiba's tattoo shop when Kiba gets an unusual tattoo request. Real-life setting; Pittsburgh, PA.</p><p>**THIS FIC HAS BEEN ABANDONED AND WILL NOT BE FINISHED**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on my phone, so there are some lazy spacing and capitalization errors. Feel free to point them out, I will fix them when I get computer-time.

His first class of the day was astronomy. it was a good start to the day, as most of his free time was spent watching the sky anyways. Beautiful stars and their ancient, mysterious lives.  
  
Nothing is more relaxing than gazing up at the night sky.  
  
Or the day.  
  
Vast blues at noon and varying warm pinks and oranges in the mornings and evenings. The sky is fascinating.  
Especially clouds.  
  
So simple and carefree. Little aerosols bunched together in groups of millions. It's like stars and planets in galaxies, but in a tiny... easily observed display for all earth dwellers to marvel upon.  
  
Without really paying much attention to the lecture his professor was giving, he was already finishing the first assignment on the syllabus.  
  
His second class he took for the easy credit. cognitive psychology. Taught by none other than his dad, Shikaku Nara. Reasoning, problem solving, decision making. They were all things that were so incredibly easy to understand. Why other people had such a hard time doing it Shikamaru would never know.  
  
Everyone in class kind of assumed they were related because they looked so much alike, and even wore the same hair style. They had the same thick, long hair that was most easily managed in a ponytail. It was only the first day of class and already other students were judging him, being caddy and jealous.  
  
Last class of the day was matrices and liner operations. Not necessarily easy, but not difficult either. It helped understand complex beats and rhythms for his part time job as a DJ. Even though his love for music was for it's release, there was still that desire to know *why* and *how*. Why this melody, why that drum kick. What makes a human drawn to this Morse code?  
  
After classes was a bus ride into Southside to hang out at Inuzuka, a tattoo shop owned by his friend, Kiba and his older sister.  
  
Kiba was muscular and rough. His choppy brown hair never looked brushed and he always seemed to have a bruise or cut of some sort. He had piercings in his cartledge and gauges and His cheeks were marked with red fangs, done by his mother before she retired from inking.  
  
Shikamaru slipped through the steel barred door. Kiba popped his head from a copy of this months issue of kusanagi, east-coast's most well known tattoo mag. "Hey bro," Kiba frowned, "Oakland better have been fucking packed today because I haven't seen a single person walk down east Carson."  
  
Shikamaru plopped into the needle chair, "It's the first day of the semester at Pitt, and the third at most others. Nobody is going to bear the pain of a tattoo in the first week of class."  
  
"Whatev," Kiba hissed, "send some hot girlies down. Taking any classes with Sasuke?"  
  
"Not this semester."  
  
"That's a damn shame. All the good ones flock to him. If you see him around campus send him and his seagulls over."  
  
Shikamaru grunted an affirmation. They sat around for a bit, Kiba bugging Skikamaru about still being completely without a tattoo. "I don't know what I would get. It would be there for life... I'm not going to get just _anything_."  
  
Just Then a customer walked in. A pale, skinny white boy neither of them had seen before. He wore a hoodie open with no shirt underneath as if to show off his masterfully toned stomach. His Art institute Student id hanging from a belt loop of some extremely expensive looking jeans.  
  
He looked around the place before settling his gaze on Shikamaru. "you guys ever do a tongue tat?"  
  
Kiba got up off the floor to greet his new meat. "I've done inner lip about 20 times, roof of mouth once, and pierced more tongues than Charlie sheen's dick. I don't see why I couldn't. Have a design in mind?"  
  
The kid stuck out his tongue to reveal a very faded block pattern. "Sai." He said as he produced his hand to shake.  
  
"Kiba. Nice to meet you." He replied as they shook hands. "I'd love to touch up your ink, but if you don't mind me askin', why not go to your first guy?"  
  
Sai responded quite plainly, "diagnosed with Parkinson's 4 months ago"  
  
Kiba cringed. "That sucks. All black ink, and a simple design... You squirm? "  
  
"Not in the slightest." Sai replied.  
  
"An hour and a hundred bucks and your ink will be fresh."  
  
After studying Sai for a moment while the two talked, Shikamaru butted in. "Student at AI? You know Sakura and Ino? Fashion design students."  
  
"Or shino, in photography?" Kiba added.  
  
Sai seemed to ponder this a moment, "I'm not too good with names, but I might know them." He pulled out a sketchbook, "what does Sakura look like?"  
  
"Neon pink hair, kinda ugly..." Said Kiba.  
  
"Oh. I do." Sai flipped through 20 or so pages and began to draw. After about 40 seconds Shikamaru looked over his shoulder, "that's Sakura alright. Damn, you're good."  
  
Sai thanked him for the compliment but didn't seem too pleased. In fact the entire time he had been there the only time his expression really changed was his kinda caddy smile when he shook hands with Kiba.  
  
"Woah, that's god damn fantastic. What about my ol' buddy Shino? He always wears sunglasses and usually wears a trench. He kinda gives a creepy vibe."  
  
Sai thought about it. "does he blend into a crowd really well? Kind of forgettable?"  
  
Shikamaru laughed, "yeah that's him"  
  
Sai flipped a couple pages back and presented a page completely covered in drawings. Portraits and still lifes, not a single space on the page free. Sai scanned the page a moment and pointed at an odd drawing of a guy in the bushes with a camera.  
  
"he seemed to be photographing macros of the plants." Sai offered.  
  
"bugs." Kiba corrected and pointed to a blown-up picture of a spider on the wall. "He was probably bug-watching"  
"I see..." Said sai.  
  
The three of them chatted a while, and then Kiba remembered what Sai had come for. "So, should we get down to business, my friend? I would be honored to fix your tat. Shouldn't take but maybe an hour," Kiba said as he intrusively opened sai's mouth without permission. "didja bring a toothbrush?"  
  
"nwo" Sai managed through his open mouth.  
  
Shikamaru then disappeared behind a counter and produced a cheap toothbrush wrapped in cellophane, and a tube of plain peroxide toothpaste. "Brush, and he shall begin."


	2. Dokidoki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd after 3 cocktails whoooooo

45 minutes and Kiba was already cleaning up.

"I've never had someone sit so still. I thought you were dead." Kiba held up a mirror, "whadda ya think?"

Sai stuck out his tongue and examined, smiled, and pulled out his wallet. He produced three fifties and handed them to Kiba.

Kiba cocked his head to the side. "I was sure I said only $100." but Sai grabbed his arm and shook his head, and pointed to his cheesy smile. Kiba blushed, "Whatever dude. Enjoy"

Sai opened the gated door and took off towards Station Square. After watching him leave, Shikamaru pulled out his phone to check Facebook. "Choji's down the street, wanna join him? Watching that made me strangely hungry."

"Hell yeah it did." Kiba groaned, "Let's eat. I'll call Sis so she can watch the shop."

Two blocks down from Inuzuka is the Japanese restaurant, Nakama. A couple times a week the boys went there for sushi or drinks. Chouji, a heavy guy with naturally blushed cheeks, was a childhood friend of Shikamaru. They entered and went straight to their usual table, finding Chouji with an empty plate in front of him, and a menu in his hands. 

"Hey Chouji, guess what I just inked!" Exclaimed Kiba as he sat across from Chouji.

"Umm, I don't know, an old lady's tatas?"  
Choji asked half heartedly. Shikamaru sat beside him and peered over his shoulder at the menu. 

Kiba cringed for the second time that day. "Naah man. I tattooed some guy's tongue! It was sick as fuck."

Genuine concern crossed Choji's face as he put down the menu, "How's he gonna eat?"

"I don't know but he's had it done before." Kiba thought about it for a quiet moment, you could almost see him thinking. Shikamaru considered asking if he needed an ice pack for his forehead, but let him finish instead. "I'm not too worried about it. He was skinnier than Shikamaru, I'm not so sure he eats at all."

Shikamaru added in, "And he goes to AI. He drew a freaky-realistic picture of Sakura."

Kiba laughed, "It looked just like her ugly-ass angry face, ahahahaha"

Nobody laughed with him.

"What?"

Behind him a female voice growled, "Your face is gonna look a whole lot worse in a second."

Shikamaru and Chouji snickered as Kiba tried to placate the angered beast that was Sakura.

"Hey Sakura," Shikamaru asked, "Do you know a guy named Sai from school? About my height, pale, short black hair." He paused for a moment while she tuned into his words. She stopped choking Kiba to think. "He came into Inuzuka today half dressed to get a tongue tattoo."

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, "Yeah the guy with like, no emotions. Major eye candy though. Shirtless _all the time._ "

Everyone shifted uncomfortably as Sakura obviously was imagining him. "Yeah, that's him." Shikamaru offered reluctantly. 

"He's one of the best artists in the school. Girls love him. He's the Sasuke of AI..." She seemed a bit lost in her own words. "Wait did you say tongue tattoo?"

"Yeah. You should ask him if Shino can take some pics for the shop." Kiba asked quietly, as if he were a fly on the wall offering subliminal advice. The last thing he wanted was to remind Sakura he was there. 

Without hearing Kiba, possibly on purpose, Sakura questioned, "How is he going to eat while it heals?" 

The three guys laughed, having heard the question not even 10 minutes ago. "That's what we wanna know." Shikamaru revealed. 

"Shika, you don't have class Wednesdays after 3 right?" Sakura asked. Shikamaru nodded and confirmed. "You should come downtown one of these days, we can ask him about eating and a photoshoot when it heals, and we can visit Naruto at work." Sakura apparently had heard Kiba, but was angry enough still to not talk to him.

"Sounds good. I haven't had ramen in a while."

***

Shikamaru was laying awake in his room. It was 8am and he had to get up soon if he wanted to make his 9 o clock class. _What a pain in the ass._

He rolled over

_I wish I could sleep until noon like Kiba. Only work a couple hours a day._  
His alarm went off again. Whoever invented the snooze button was a sadist.

_Must be nice as an artist. Making your own schedule..._ He turned off the alarm and sat up, yawned, and stretched. _Charging what you want._

Shikamaru yawned again and dressed for the day. Skinny jeans from good will and a plaid shirt that looked straight out of the 90s Seattle grunge scene. He ran a pick through his hair and threw it into a ponytail without looking just before grabbing his satchel with his tablet and textbooks in it and heading down the stairs and into the kitchen.

His mom was washing a pan, "Bacon?"

"How can I say no to _bacon_?" He joked and grabbed the whole paper towel full of the crispy fatty goodness from off the plate. He didn't feel bad for this at all, as his dad surely left at least an hour ago... and his mother, who was a keeper for the deer and gazelle at the zoo, was vegetarian.

"Auntie Tsunade and Auntie Shizune can give you some tips I'm sure."

Tsunade and Shizune were his neighbors, professors for UPMC majors. Tsunade was a world famous doctor for saving over 30 lives in one day being the only doctor able to make it to the scene after a nasty 90 car pileup.

"Do you mean because they're doctors or because they have a pet pig?" Shikamaru quipped. 

"I was thinking of Tonton, but I suppose both reasons work."

"Have a good day at work mom. I'll see you when you get home." He grabbed a couple other things from the table and piled them on a paper plate. 

"Bye, hun! Don't be late!" His mother called.   
He got to class just in time. His astronomy professor was the type of douchebag that sometimes locked the classroom door when class started so you couldn't come in late. Class was uneventful and uninteresting.   
Afterwards he had a bit of a break, his other two classes were Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Tuesdays and Thursday's were Music Theroy at noon. Shikamaru layed in the lawn under the shade of the cathedral. A gentle heat hung in the air from the post-summer sunny day, but the occasional breeze made it feel nice. He closed his eyes and heard the twill of a Cicada in a nearby tree. _It's a little late in the season for Cicadas. The heat must be keeping them around._

Just as he began to dose off in the comfort of the shrinking late morning shadows, he heard the giggles of teenage girls, probably freshmen.

" 'Sup Shika."

Without opening his eyes he replied, "Hey Sasuke. Kiba wants you to go see him. Bring your friends."

"If Naruto and Sakura want to go, they'll go."

"No, your female friends." he opened his eyes and gestured towards the three girls who were now sitting in the grass next to him.

"Hi, I'm Sacha. These are my friends Kanako and Haruka."

"Hi?" Shikamaru greeted out of forced politeness. 

Haruka blushed, "You single, Shika?"

"Shikamaru... and yeah. But you're barking up the wrong tree." he explained.

Sasuke kneeled beside Shikamaru and stroked his face like a lover would, "more like wrong trees, huh?"

Sacha coughed and stood. "Um I have to go to class. Nice meeting you Shikamaru."

Harkua got up with her, but Kanako looked confused.

"Come on, Kana." Sacha ordered. 

Still very confused, Kanako whined, "But we don't even go to Pi-"

Sacha grabbed Kanako's arm and pulled her up. "Sasuke and his friend are not interested. We need to find someone else."

Just before they could leave Shikamaru imposed his friend's request. "Inuzuka in Southside. Ask for Kiba. He's got a ton of hot, straight, smart college friends."

Haruka blushed, "Oh. Um... Thanks?" 

The girls walked off towards the Carnegie Library, and turned down Forbes and disappeared out of their sight. 

"Woe Sasuke, they must've been super obnoxious. I felt a little dokidoki in my kokoro just now." Shikamaru admitted playfully. He sat up straight and adjusted his ponytail. 

"I'm glad it worked." Sasuke sighed in relief, "Usually they just go all goo goo eyed. I had a feeling they were religious though."

"At least they're not students, if they were then we might have problems with Itachi hearing about what you just did."

"And what would he do, disown his own brother for being a fag?" Sasuke snorted. 

"Naah, he would be fine if you became a fugitive of the US and started working for Alquedia." Shikamaru got a pained look on his face, like someone just punched him in the stomach. "I'm more worried about what he would do to me."

"You do have a point there." Itachi happened to be a particularly protective older brother. 

Shikamaru changed the subject. "I met your doppelganger last week."

Sasuke scrunched his face, "The fuck you mean, doppelganger?"

"Looks like you, attracts girls like you. Emotionless among strangers." Shikamaru lost himself and muttered, "Abs you could wash clothes on." 

"Careful now, don't fall in love with me Shika." Sasuke cautioned. 

"He was really pasty though. Porcelain skin like I've never seen outside of winter."

"Your doing that thing." Sasuke warned further. 

"What thing?" Shikamaru asked. 

"The spilling your guts thing. It's gross. You make this guy seem like a dreamboat. Stop it or ill break his knees."

Subtle shock crossed Shikamaru's expression. "Really?"

Sasuke facepalmed. "No, I wouldn't actually break his knees." 

"No, dumbass." Shikamaru laughed, "you really think I'm in that deep?"

"We can find out." Sasuke offered. "Invite him to Kakashi's tonight."

"I don't have his number." Shikamaru admitted, "All I know about him is he goes to AI with Sakura and Ino, and he's got a tongue tattoo."

"A what?" Sasuke did a double-take. 

"Yeah, that's how I met him." He recalled, "He came to Kiba to get it touched up." 

"You always attract the weird ones." 

"Shut up, Sasuke." Shikamaru looked at the time on his phone. "Time for class, see ya tonight?" 

"Sure. Drinks? 8?" Sasuke asked. 

Shikamaru agreed, then stood and looked around curiously. "That gay thing really works for you. No girls to be found."

Standing up, Sasuke shoved his friend a bit. "Sorry, not happening again."

_Tch. Worth the try._ "Whatever."

Shikamaru went to class, with his job in mind. This evening he was DJing at Sharingan, a club in Shadyside owned by Sasuke's renown family, the Uchihas. The manager is a mentor to Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, who were students at his mma dojo as kids.

Kakashi. He's a slick ladies man, sexy and mysterious, and he always wears a cover over his mouth and nose. He lost his left eye fighting when he was 14. The man's a hell of a bartender. He can recreate any drink just by tasting it. He's got job offers from all over the East coast because of his talent. Kakashi has been hooking Naruto and his friends up with sweet jobs for years. Nobody has more connections. The noodle shop downtown is virtually never hiring yet Naruto got a job there without any prior experience. Sakura and Sasuke both got insane local grants for school, and Kiba was able to open Inuzuka at 19, fully booked for the first few months after opening.

The Prof called on Shikamaru when he wasn't exactly paying attention. Somehow he bullshitted into letting everyone think his head was in the game. 

After class Shikamaru ran into his favourite professor, Sarutobi Asuma. 

"How ya doin, kid? "

Asuma was one of those fun, creative profs that students love. He always used real-life applications in his teaching. 

"Can't complain," _Yes I can, school is so fucking mundane I can't wait to get off campus._ How's the family? "

"We have a third on the way." 

Shikamaru smiled, "She's pregnant again? You don't know how to slow down" 

"Kids are the future, and I'd rather them be mine than Snooki's." They laughed. "Have you settled on a carreer you want to persue?"

"I'm going to burn my degree and become an artist" Shikamaru deadpaned.   
"Heh, You can't burn something you don't have yet." Asuma played along with what he thought was a joke. "Do you have any talent?" 

"I'll make it mathematical art. I'm good at mathstuffs."

The Professor chuckled, "Kakashi told me you were on tonight at Sharingan. It's gonna be a big party. Guy and his pack are going. I'd bring the Mrs. but it'll be too loud for the baby."

"Aren't you getting a little old for clubbing?" Shikamaru asked. Asuma punched him in the arm playfully. "Do me a favour?" he added, looking around a bit, "Don't tell dad?" 

"Have I ever? Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he still thinks you spend your evenings studying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make the girls cameos from other animes rather than Mary Sues.

**Author's Note:**

> I am a slow writer so expect long periods of time between updates.


End file.
